hathor

I'll let you know about the heating....I'm not overly worried because we are inside very thick walls, which act both to cool and to keep warm, and we certainly won't be losing too much heat to windows! It's sort of like living inside a rock...our house is the same way..takes at least 3 days to heat up from stone cold and then not much heat is needed. Yesterday's drama was the big fire door...which is rectangle normal door shape, and the arched entry that it needs to fit into. I left with 5 Italians and 1 boy from Brooklyn, each giving 10 opinions....I figured that eventually they would work it out.

Good to know! I'll keep you in mind....and vice versa, of course! If there is something that you are wanting, let me know. Zolfino beans, perhaps??

Thanks Ed and Divina!! Your support means a lot. And keep those cinghiale recipes coming...lord knows we will have a lot of it, soon enough! We've had no internet since Sunday, our town 'technico' said its because its too hot. Sometimes its too windy. sometimes it's just Tuesday. Will we ever have reliable internet??? I had an 'uh-oh' moment today at the work site. There were crews putting the glass in the window fframes, another crew working on installing this huge fire proof door, some guys outside working on the walls, we were hauling up planters....and the place is starting to look incredible. And the uh-oh moment came when you really truly realize that what you have been planning and visualizing is actually gonna happen. It's an 'important' space and I hope we can all do it justice. Photos tomorrow....today ....I'm melting!!

No, actually we just climb up and out, and hang on!! We have one of the only roof decks in town...it's wonderful..so come on over!

Thanks jumanggy! That's one way I got him to eat pretty much anything -- chop it up small, saute it, and mix it in with something else. ← Gorgeous lunches! What is tangerine-teriyaki-tofu?? do you make it ? What a wild combination! At least to me. I lurk, but rarely post on this thread, but the weather has been gorgeous, so it's been lunch on the roof most days this week. 2 days ago: red wine and zucchini flower risotto And today was a cold lunch: hard boiled eggs stuffed with yolk, anchovies, onion, capers, parsley, and some mustard/olive oil/red wine vinegar, tomatoes with oregano, mozzarella with basil, lentil salad, cucumber salad, aged pecorino, and some Sicilian tuna fish. How come Italian tuna fish tastes sooo good? Edit because I forgot to post the picture! See what happens when you have a little wine with lunch?

Here's the construction update. This is how the entrance looked on May 7. And on July 7, with a temporary door. And today! I think that's some pretty impressive progress! Believe it or not...the dining room on May 7 And the cleaned up walls, today There was some niche work going on, way up high! And finally, a view from the kitchen window. The sky has been this blue, blue, blue for the past couple of days, and there are some gorgeous old larch trees right outside. No glass in the windows yet!

Busboy, no worried in the cinghiale department. Come fall, this idyllic countryside sounds like a war zone. You almost get used to the sound of gunfire, and not being able to take walks in the woods. Pontormo, I don't know how the restaurant got its name. But, when I was researching the name, there was some weird coincidences. The animal symbol for the Erba Luna is the wolf. Claudio and Martina have a dog that is part wolf. He was wild and abused and they took Balto in. He fiercely protects the family, but everyone else has to be really careful around him. There is some connection between the Erba Luna and the goddess Hathor (now that gave me the willies!). The celebration of the Erba Luna is August 13, and my birthday is Aug 16, Martina's is Aug 14...so we're close. And the traditional representation of the Erba Luna is a trinity of a young girl (Celina), a mother (Martina)..and an old crone (me!!). It's also the name of a plant that we used to call a Chinese money tree (those circular, translucent seed pods), and although it's not native to the area, its growing wild at Corlo, Claudio & Martina's little place in the compagna.

No problem! eGulleters are always welcome! I'm ok with breathing, but Martina can talk for about 4 minutes in machine gun fire Italian without stopping to breathe. She's...excitable, but has truly awesome lung power!

It is very good to see him recognized like this. It's refreshing to see photos of something other than the front of the house. Secondo me.

It seems as though the restaurant fairy, or in our case, the restaurant diavolo has paid us a visit. While being entertained by Busboy’s prescient thread about fantasy restaurants, I read it with the sweaty palm knowledge that we had been handed a remarkable opportunity. Here is the Cliff Notes version of our saga. Once upon time, there were 2 bars in the piazza of Montone, and we spent a good amount of time at Erba Luna Bar/Ristorante. We became friends with the owners, Claudio and Martina. Last fall they lost the lease on their space (now that is a very shortened version of the story!!). This spring, the commune, our local governing body, found Claudio a new space for the restaurant; and Claudio and Martina asked Jeff and I to become partners with them in this new venture. It is literally a hole in the wall. It is a space that has existed since the early 15th century, and is a long, arched ceiling cavern. It was probably used to hide some of the riches of the Fortebraccio family from the Popes, it has been a stable, a community root cellar and chicken coop, a bomb shelter during WWII, and now it’s ours. We started cleaning and restoring in mid-May, and we are hoping to open in the next few weeks. By anyone’s standards this is fast, but here in Italy, it’s nothing short of a ‘miracolo’. There will be an outdoor garden, a bar, 2 dining rooms, an upstairs lounge, and our cucina. The drawback is that it is all ‘railroad’ style, so the trek from garden to kitchen will be a long one! The ceilings must be at least 35 feet high, and even though the windows are high and small (think medieval dungeon) there is a surprising amount of light. Oh, the food? Yes, it will be Italian! Claudio is Roman, Martina is French/Umbrian, I’ve studied the regional foods of Italy, and so it will be pan-fusion-Italian-Slow Food style. We’re trying to grow most of our vegetables, although the orto has been somewhat neglected this year, by next year, it should be providing quite a bit of our vegetables. Here we do battle with the porcupines, hedgehogs and cinghiale (wild boar) trying to keep them out of the garden. Seems hedgehogs just love melons. Who knew?? And if a cinghiale goes through, it looks like a backhoe has decimated the garden. We hold meetings in the piazza because it’s more convenient for everyone. It sort of like working in a giant living room, with all of your friends, family and strangers pausing to give you some input. Giving your opinion is an essential requirement for all Italians. It’s just a part of the national DNA. It also makes for very lively conversations. How is our Italian? We refer to it as the carousel. You’re riding along, up and down, lulled into easy comprehension, when all of sudden you get pitched off the carousel, and have to run like mad to jump back on. On one hand, it’s incredibly frustrating; on the other hand, everything gets parsed down into what is truly necessary. When all else fails, I consult with Celina. She’s 10 and very patient with her grammar lessons. Just to give you an idea of what we are working with, and how far we have come. Here is the kitchen on May 14, and the same area of the kitchen with the tiling crew on July 4. Here is the dining room in May, and again on July 5. The partially completed stairway to the lounge (kitchen entrance on the left, bathroom entrance on the right). We are working with a generator and some lamps, so the lighting makes for some strange colors. All in all, I think we’ve embarked on yet another Great Adventure. Please send some positive energy our way!!

Which part? The part about Tupac being skinny??? Sorry....I couldn't resist! We ALL wish we knew his secret!

Ah, our pilgrim has surfaced!! I was starting to worry about you when then were no eG posts!! Sounds like the hostel situation in Sienna wasn't so much fun, but you survived. Glad you had some fun, and relaxed while visiting. Sestine (the ricotta lady says hello to you. Saluti!) And now your in that jewel of a city, Firenze. Keep eating and have a wonderful time! P.S. In case anyone is wondering....Tupac is skinny!!

If you do come to Piedmont (more importantly the Monferrato) please look us up, we always have a bottle of wine laying around! Ed ← One of these days....I'm going to take you up on that offer of some wine! And a look at the new stove. Did you get it hooked up? I ordered an ILVE....maybe someday, I'll actually get it.... AlexNoir: there is an old Scottish saying, and it's a little bit 'coarse'....you must pee with the 'equipment' that god has given you! It you have 10 days, and you split it 5 and 5...will you see everything there is to see in Piemonte, and Tuscany/Umbria. No, it's not possible. Will you have a damn fine time, and eat and drink very well, yes!! In my opinion, it would be a nice contrast to see a bit of the different regions of Italy. The food, the wine, the people are very different, from region to region. As you can see, we are all passionate about our particular region, and they are all wonderful. Look for something centrally located, and plan on taking day trips. In Italy, serendipity is always a treasured experience!

A simply beautiful blog. Thank you for sharing. I love your 'guardian chicken'....it's fabulous. What's going to happen to the village when the 70+'s start to vanish? It's something that we talk about in our village....

Of course I'd say come to Umbria, but maybe 5 days in the Piemonte region and 5 days in the Tuscany/Umbria region. If you were based somewhere near Arezzo/Cortona you could cover a lot o of Tuscany and Umbria on day trips. And I second Docsconz's idea.....rent a place with a kitchen, and rent a car. Driving in Italy is really not so bad. Honest. But parking??

When I'm in the States, my 'go-to' place is Gustiamo Very, very nice people with excellent products.

Emiliani and Romagnoli. You are one or the other. Marcella Hazan is romagnola (from Cesanatico), despite her association with Bologna and bolognese cooking. ← Maureen, will you be my fairy-editor?? I cannot spell or proofread to save my life! Do you know, is there any truth to the story that Mussolini moved the border of E-R so that he could say he was born there? We were told this story by the gentleman that runs the Gambero Rosso trattoria in E-R, and I've always wondered if it was really true.

Everybody else's markets all look so organized.... All those colors in that photo! Just gorgeous. Can't wait to hear all about your sausages! Regards from another 'yank' living in Europe!

What?? No pictures??? (p.s. Welcome to eGullet!!)

I ADORE rainbow chard, so pretty, so tasty. Looks like you ate really well this weekend!

Just beautiful Shaya!! Those Emilia-Romangnaians (sp?? ) sure do like their butter! Almost as much as the Lombardians. That sounds like a great sugo. Shaya, you're the pasta queen, do you have a preference between Tipo '0' or Tipo '00'? Our wheat is just being harvested, and 90% of it shows up as Tipo '0'. So, that's what I usually use. But, I was curious if you liked one better than the other.

Well, this news just sucks. I didn't have a chance to get there, and it sounded so wonderful. I'm so sorry.

I'm becoming more and more convinced that amaranth is to be combined with other ingredients. (Beebs, everyone has something that they just don't like, and for me it's congee. All my Hong Kong friends would always tease me about it! As they slurped up their congee!)

Have a look here for a page where you can convert BTUs to kilowatt hours and watt hours, etc. For example, a 30,000 BTU stove burner is also a 8,792 watt hour stove burner (not to mention a 31650000 joule, 7560 kilocalorie or 6.863 pounds of TNT stove burner). ← Thanks! That's just what I needed. TNT? Maybe I need to use some of that to get rid of the old stove. They were very concrete happy when they did the rehab on my kitchen....which I inherited.

If you need a summary: 1 lb fresh = 1 lb dry, because a pound is a pound is a pound And don't not tell a soul if you used that fresh pasta for carbonara, take that secret to your grave. any further questions??